Read Out of the Blue for Free Online Page B

if she didn't know!
    "And second of all," he continued. "It's not like I … get a 'conquest' every night of the week."
    "So it's difficult for you, too. Maybe it runs in the family?"
    He swore again, more colorfully now. "Listen, just tell him. Say, 'I want you'. Have you tried that?"
    Well … no, actually. She hadn't.
    But she would.
    * * *
    Zach suddenly came awake. He lay there, unsure how much time had passed or what had awakened him. Then came a rustling, the sound of a drawer opening. Blinking his still bleary eyes open into the moonlit room, he saw the slight shadow of Hannah rifling through a drawer.
    It was two in the morning.
    "Hannah?"
    "Oh!" She nearly jerked right out of her skin. Whirling, she put a hand to her chest. "I'm sorry! Did I wake you?"
    "What's the matter?"
    "L-looking for sweats," she said, her teeth chattering. "I'm frozen."
    She wore only a white T-shirt that fell to mid-thigh. Her feet were bare, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. She looked small and vulnerable. Defenseless. All of which had every protective urge in him out in force.
    Damn.
    "Come here," he said, and lifted the edge of his covers.
    She came, but then hesitated, looking down at him.
    "I'm warm," he said gently, thankful she couldn't see how "warm".
    "But you told me not to look at you in … that way, and if I come in there, I'm going to do exactly that."
    Thank God for the dark. "I'll try not to notice. Come on, it's okay."
    She slipped into the bed, then lay on her back a bit stiffly. Her teeth rattled, and so did something deep inside him. "Closer. Come on," he coaxed softly, reaching out, touching her hips, urging her on her side facing away from him. Then he scooted her back to his chest so that he could share his body heat. His own exhaustion momentarily forgotten, he stroked a hand down her quivering body, trying to rub some warmth into her.
    Gradually, she started to relax, even sighing deeply, snuggling back against him for more heat. "Nice," she murmured.
    Until that moment he'd managed to keep his thoughts along the lines of comfort only.
    Mostly.
    But with her unwittingly seductive voice, and her bottom rubbing over the part of him that had a mind of its own, comfort flew out the window.
    It became difficult, if not impossible, to keep his hands on platonic areas of her body. There weren't any! Every part of her drew him, all her long, toned limbs, her sweet, soft lush curves. His fingers stroked down her slim spine, down, down, down… He groaned at the feel of her, un able to keep his hands from exploring.
    Another deep sigh escaped her at his touch, and her breath came slow and even.
    So he kept on caressing her, trying to keep still, struggling to hold back another groan because she was heaven in his hands.
    "Want you, Zach," she sighed.
    He froze. She wanted him. Reality reared up and bit him, because while he wanted her back, she couldn't want him. She couldn't, this was his own private torture.
    Then she sighed his name and whispered it again.
    "What?" he asked, praying he'd heard wrong. Nothing.
    "Hannah?"
    "Mmm?"
    She couldn't just say that and fall asleep … could she? "Um … Hannah?"
    This time he got a soft snore for an answer.
    Great. Her hair tickled his nose, her head was heavy on his arm, making it go numb. Her feet, which felt like icicles, rested on his. Her shirt had ridden up so that the only thing that separated them were silky panties and his own briefs, which were now far too tight for comfort. He was as hard as a rock, practically shaking with it, and there she lay, peaceful as a baby, getting the sleep that should be his!
    It was a long, long time before he followed her into dreamland.

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    Chapter 5
    « ^ »
    H annah woke up warm and toasty and— locked in Zach's arms!
    It all came back to her in a flood. The music, the candles … her failure.
    Darn it, she'd fallen asleep on him!
    Incredible as it seemed, they hadn't done anything.
    Hannah would have groaned, loudly, but she